The 3-point attempt was just off the mark and bounced off the rim at the buzzer as fifth-ranked Shelby County held on for a 50-47 win over third-ranked Sumter Central in the Class 5A Central Regional semifinals on Tuesday.

"That was the longest 2.2 seconds of my life," said Madison, who finished with 24 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals for Shelby County (28-6).

Brown said the Wildcats breathed a collective sigh of relief when the shot fell away from the rim.

"I think we were all holding our breath while the shot was in the air," Brown said. "When it hit off the side of the rim, I could breathe again. A couple more inches and we'd still be out there playing instead of in here talking about our win."

With the win, Shelby County advances to the regional finals for the first time in more than a decade.

"It's a big accomplishment for our program, but we have more we want to do," Brown said. "We've had a lot of good teams and we've probably won 20 games eight times in the past 15 or 16 years, but we haven't been to the regional finals since 2000.

"But more than that, it's just how these guys have turned around in one season, from 9-20 last year to 28-6 this season. Now we have to get ready for a very good Paul Bryant team."

"This is big for our community," Madison said. "This is the first time we've been in the regional finals since 2000. We appreciate our fans coming out today and we look forward to having another big crowd on Thursday."